Updated January 10, 2014 at 6:12 PM;Posted January 10, 2014 at 3:33 PM

Viaduct 1.jpg

Richard A. Davey, Secretary of Transportation (right), and Albert Stegemann, District Highway Director for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, walk under the I91 viaduct that will be part of a $200 million project announced today by Gov. Deval Patrick.
(The Republican / Don Treeger)

BOSTON — The replacement of the I-91 viaduct in Springfield, a new Pioneer Valley Transit Authority maintenance facility, and some rail and road repairs are among the projects that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation intends to fund over the next five years, according to a draft Capital Investment Plan (see document at end of this article) released Friday by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Gov. Deval Patrick spent the summer advocating for increased transportation funding as he traveled around the state announcing a variety of transportation projects. Ultimately, the legislature approved less money for transportation than Patrick hoped for. But the resulting plan, which would spend $12.4 billion over five years, still funds a number of new projects, including in Western Massachusetts.

Timothy Brennan, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, said there are always more needs, but many of the region's key projects have been funded. "There's lots of other project needs, but again it’s a question of how many dollars are available and how many projects are chasing those dollars," Brennan said.

The biggest single project in Western Massachusetts is a $260 million project to rehabilitate the Interstate 91 viaduct from the North End Bridge to the Memorial Bridge in downtown Springfield. The money will also fund a review of long-term options for that stretch of highway. Patrick visited Springfield to announce funding for the project in November. Construction could begin in November and last 3½ years.

The plan would also set aside $196 million to replace Regional Transit Authority buses and improve maintenance depots and other facilities, including building a new Pioneer Valley Transit Authority maintenance facility. It is not clear from the plan how much money would go to the PVTA or when the project would be built.

Mary MacInnes, administrator for the Pioneer Valley Regional Transit Authority, said project priorities are likely to be determined by a council of Regional Transit Authorities. But, she said, the authority's current maintenance facility in Springfield is undersized and out of date. "Our existing facility is over 100 years old and our facility, given its size, is suitable probably for providing half the service that we're currently providing," MacInnes said.

The plan also includes $1.5 billion for municipal projects statewide, including $200 million a year through Chapter 90, which sets aside grant money for cities and towns mostly for road paving projects, and $582 million in other municipal projects.

Brennan said municipalities had hoped for $300 million a year for Chapter 90 funding, but the $200 million still represents an important pot of money for local cities and towns. "In this proposal, they are talking about something that cities and towns have been clamoring for, and that’s a multi-year commitment of dollars to the Chapter 90 program," Brennan said.

There are also a number of rail projects included in the proposal. The plan would set aside $17 million in 2014 for the state to buy the rail line between Springfield and the Vermont border from Pan Am. The state is working to develop the Knowledge Corridor rail service, which would have stops in Springfield, Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield. Brennan said construction could be completed by the end of 2014.

Additional money would pay for track and signal improvements for the Vermonter rail line as well as the purchase and rehabilitation of coaches, according to the state plan.

The plan would set aside $35 million for the Housatonic Railroad, which connects North Adams, Pittsfield and other northern Berkshire towns to Springfield and New York. That money would be spent to rehabilitate tunnels, track and signals in advance of acquisition of the rail line by the state.

It would spend $10 million over five years to replace fiber optic signal and communication systems and repair tracks on the Springfield to New Haven corridor.

The plan says it would fund the rehabilitation of platforms, safety systems and passenger amenities at the Springfield train depot. It would allocate some funding toward planning, permitting and rehabilitation of a proposed passenger rail route between Boston and Springfield. In 2016 and 2017, it would set aside $12.5 million for the renovations at Springfield's Union Station.

“We invest in our transportation infrastructure because roads, rail and bridges create a foundation that supports private sector investment and expanded opportunity for all our residents,” Patrick said in a statement. “This plan makes investments across the entire state, is flexible, and spends wisely while creating thousands of jobs over the next several years.”

The money for the plan would come from a variety of sources, including bonding, federal funding and tolls.

Elsewhere in the state, the plan would fund a variety of MBTA projects in greater Boston. It would put $250 million toward South Coast Rail, a proposed restoration of the commuter rail line between Boston and the South Coast. It would repair several bridges; move toward all electronic tolling on the Massachusetts Turnpike from New York state to Boston and in the harbor tunnels; repair and maintain the state's airports; and modernize computers at the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Public hearings in Western Massachusetts on the plan will be held on Monday, Feb. 3 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk in Amherst; and on Monday, Feb. 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Berkshire Athenaeum, 1 Wendell Avenue in Pittsfield.